Staff Product Manager, Cloud Networking

Job description

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them. It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together. One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform. ABOUT THE ROLE: Confluent's Cloud Networking team is responsible for making connectivity to and from Confluent Cloud reliable, scalable, secure, cost-efficient, and simple to use — across Kafka, Flink, Connectors, Data Governance, and Tableflow, on AWS, Azure, and GCP. As Staff PM for Cloud Networking, you will own the platform strategy for how enterprises connect to Confluent Cloud. This is not a feature-level role — you will define the architecture of our networking product surface across all clouds and connection models, set the multi-year roadmap, and operate as a co-decision-maker alongside engineering leadership on the technical direction of the platform. You will work across all networking connection types — PrivateLink, VNet peering, Transit Gateway, Private Service Connect, and egress optimization — and drive alignment across engineering, field, and executive stakeholders on what we build and why. WHAT YOU WILL DO: - Own the platform strategy for Confluent Cloud Networking across AWS, Azure, and GCP — defining the north star, multi-year roadmap, and sequencing of bets that balance customer connectivity needs, cost efficiency, security posture, and engineering leverage - Define frameworks and standards that other PMs, designers, and engineers use to evaluate networking decisions — connection model selection criteria, cost attribution models, security control frameworks, and launch readiness standards - Drive architectural decisions in partnership with engineering leadership — weighing trade-offs between user experience, cost, and operational complexity - Expand scope and create optionality — identify adjacencies the team should move into (network observability, cost transparency tooling, next-generation isolation models) and build the business case for them - Develop the product team — mentor Senior PMs on the team, provide feedback on product documents and roadmap thinking, and raise the bar on how the team approaches customer research and decision-making - Build senior stakeholder alignment across product, engineering, sales, field, legal, and security, then present the platform vision to executive leadership to secure organizational investment — develop the business case, communicate trade-offs clearly, and earn commitment for multi-year platform bets - Define and own success metrics at the platform level — connecting technical milestones to business outcomes including revenue, retention, attach rates, and infrastructure cost efficiency - Engage directly with strategic customers and prospects — represent the product roadmap with credibility in technical conversations with enterprise CTOs, architects, and network engineers WHAT YOU WILL BRING: - 8+ years of product management experience, with at least 3 years owning a cloud infrastructure, platform, or networking product - Demonstrated track record of setting product strategy and roadmap at platform or portfolio scope — not just feature-level delivery - Deep fluency in cloud networking concepts: PrivateLink, VNet peering, Transit Gateway, Private Service Connect, DNS, security groups, CIDR/IP management, and their trade-offs across AWS, Azure, and GCP - Experience owning products that serve enterprise customers with complex compliance, security, and connectivity requirements - Proven ability to partner with engineering leadership as a co-decision-maker on architectural direction — not just translating engineering output - Strong analytical foundation: can model unit economics, build business cases with cost/risk sensitivity, and measure platform health through leading and lagging indicators - Practices AI-native product management — uses AI tools as a genuine thought partner throughout the product lifecycle (research, prioritization, spec writing, analytics), with sound judgment on when to use, override, and validate AI output; and brings that same mindset to product design, building features and APIs that are composable, observable, and easy for AI agents and automation to consume - Experience developing PMs and raising the bar on product thinking — through direct mentorship, feedback, or team processes PREFERRED - Experience with Envoy, Service Mesh, DNS and Kubernetes Networking - Familiarity with Terraform, API-first and infrastructure-as-code workflows, and how enterprise engineering teams operate networking automation - Exposure to network traffic metering, data transfer billing attribution, cost transparency tooling, or pricing and packaging strategy for cloud infrastructure products — defining packaging tiers, price points, and commercial model for enterprise buyers - Experience operating in a product-led growth or usage-based pricing environment - An MBA degree is a plus WHAT GIVES YOU AN EDGE: - At the Staff level, we expect more than excellent execution on a defined scope. We're looking for someone who: - Defines the playing field — identifies problems the team isn't yet working on and builds conviction for why they should be - Multiplies others — makes the PMs and engineers around them better through frameworks, feedback, and the way they structure problems - Operates without a ceiling — can go from a whiteboard architecture discussion to a customer negotiation to an executive strategy review, and adds value in all of them - Takes a position — has a clear point of view on where cloud networking is going and can defend it under scrutiny, while remaining open to updating when given new information READY TO BUILD WHAT'S NEXT? LET’S GET IN MOTION. COME AS YOU ARE Belonging isn’t a perk here. It’s the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what’s possible. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law. PRIVACY STATEMENT Confluent is an IBM subsidiary which has been acquired by IBM and will be integrated into the IBM organization. By proceeding with this application, you understand that Confluent will share your personal information with other IBM affiliates involved in your recruitment process, wherever these are located. More Information on how IBM protects your personal information, including the safeguards in case of cross-border data transfer, are available here http://ibm.com/careers/us-en/privacy-policy/.